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Cowboys signed coach Jason Garrett to a five-year, $30 million contract.

The financials are courtesy of DallasCowboys.com's Nick Eatman. It's a nice chunk of change for a coach who entered 2014 with a 29-27 career record, but does not put Garrett amongst the league's highest-paid coaches. Garrett wisely didn't overplay his hand in talks. Stripped of all consequential game-day duties, Garrett excelled in a caretaker role in 2014, leading Dallas to its first playoff appearance since 2009-10. Garrett is far from an Xs and Os master, but is valued for his leadership in Dallas, and avoids stepping on owner/GM Jerry Jones' toes. Garrett is a steady hand comfortable with letting 'ol Jer soak up the spotlight. Jan 13 - 5:38 PM

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports the Cowboys are "on the brink" of a new five-year contract with coach Jason Garrett.

Owner/GM Jerry Jones' annual roll of the dice on Garrett finally paid off in 2014, and 'ol Jer is likely ready to make Garrett one of the higher-paid coaches in the league. Garrett's first order of business will be convincing DC Rod Marinelli to stay after he resurrected Dallas' moribund defense in 2014. Stripped of any real game-day responsibility, Garrett is most valued in Dallas for his steady hand and leadership. He's also not someone who will clash with spotlight-hog Jones. Jan 13 - 3:26 PM

Cowboys VP Stephen Jones said Monday the team is working on a long-term extension with coach Jason Garrett.

Garrett's contract has expired and he is technically a coaching free agent, but he isn't going anywhere. The Cowboys will lock him up after a 12-4 season following three straight 8-8 finishes. Garrett isn't the best in-game coach, but Dallas' commitment to its offensive philosophy was impressive and unyielding in 2014, and led to the franchise's first playoff win since 2009. Jan 12 - 4:52 PM

"I don’t look at it that way at all," Jones claimed. "He’s more capable today than he was when he took over as head coach. If that arrow is going up, it just makes sense to have our future with Jason." Jones leaves himself wiggle room with that last caveat, but continues to stand behind a coach who's become known for his team blowing opportunities to clinch playoff berths in Week 17. We'd be stunned if Garrett survived another year without the postseason in Big D. Thu, Mar 27, 2014 03:31:00 PM

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ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports the Cowboys are "on the brink" of a new five-year contract with coach Jason Garrett.

Owner/GM Jerry Jones' annual roll of the dice on Garrett finally paid off in 2014, and 'ol Jer is likely ready to make Garrett one of the higher-paid coaches in the league. Garrett's first order of business will be convincing DC Rod Marinelli to stay after he resurrected Dallas' moribund defense in 2014. Stripped of any real game-day responsibility, Garrett is most valued in Dallas for his steady hand and leadership. He's also not someone who will clash with spotlight-hog Jones.

Cowboys VP Stephen Jones said Monday the team is working on a long-term extension with coach Jason Garrett.

Garrett's contract has expired and he is technically a coaching free agent, but he isn't going anywhere. The Cowboys will lock him up after a 12-4 season following three straight 8-8 finishes. Garrett isn't the best in-game coach, but Dallas' commitment to its offensive philosophy was impressive and unyielding in 2014, and led to the franchise's first playoff win since 2009.

"I don’t look at it that way at all," Jones claimed. "He’s more capable today than he was when he took over as head coach. If that arrow is going up, it just makes sense to have our future with Jason." Jones leaves himself wiggle room with that last caveat, but continues to stand behind a coach who's become known for his team blowing opportunities to clinch playoff berths in Week 17. We'd be stunned if Garrett survived another year without the postseason in Big D.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones reiterated Tuesday that he has no interest in relinquishing final say over the team's personnel matters.

Jones said he's retained final say since purchasing the team, and that it's "not changing." It's a pity, as Jones has made an increasing mess of things in recent years. Although they've had some high-profile misses, the Cowboys have actually drafted fairly well under Jones, but been a mess with the salary cap. Jones' excessively generous extensions have been his downfall as a general manager.

This is Jones' belief even though he admits Garrett had trouble ceding control to Bill Callahan in 2013. "Jason was really your coordinator last year," Jones admitted. "That’s a fact. ... It was unfair to Bill. But it was the offense that (Garrett) had had since (he) had got there and it was very difficult. That’s why we had such a tough time articulating it early." Jones went on to say Garrett has a "high tolerance for ambiguity," inadvertently summing up the post-Bill Parcells Cowboys. Jones puts his organization in position to fail over and over again. He's the problem in Dallas.

"My focus is really on being the best coach I can be each and every day, so that's what I think about and that's what I focus on," Garrett claimed. The Cowboys further undermined Garrett this offseason when they hired Scott Linehan as "passing-game coordinator," giving him play-call duties. Not allowed to call plays or make hires, Garrett has lost three straight winner-take-all games in Week 17. It's hard to see him saving his job this season.

The Cowboys won a coin flip over the Ravens and will therefore draft 16th overall in the May 8 draft.

Both teams had identical 8-8 records and .484 opponents' winning percentage, so the NFL was forced to break the tie with a flip. The Cowboys will pick 16th and the Ravens 17th. Dallas has used their last three first-round picks on Travis Frederick (31st overall in 2013), Morris Claiborne (6th in 2012) and Tyron Smith (9th in 2011). Frederick and Smith are coming off exceptional seasons, but Claiborne has been highly ineffective so far. If the Ravens stick at the No. 17 slot, it will be the highest they've picked since hitting with Haloti Ngata at 12th overall in 2006.

Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett is entering the final year of his contract in 2014.

Garrett will be hoping to ditch his lame-duck status with an in-season extension, but Jerry Jones is unlikely to make that happen until he sees what the Cowboys do in December. In each of the last three seasons, his team has gone 8-8 and failed to make the playoffs. Jones appeared to give Garrett a pass this year as Tony Romo (back) wasn't available for the season-ending Week 17 home loss to the Eagles. Somehow, DC Monte Kiffin and OC/playcaller Bill Callahan have also retained their positions for now.

Following Sunday night's season-ending loss to the Eagles, Jerry Jones reiterated that head coach Jason Garrett will return in 2014.

It was originally thought that Garrett had to make the playoffs to save his job, but Tony Romo's absence in the NFC East title game may have changed things. "I stand by what I said a month ago," Jones said Sunday night, referencing his previous firm comments that Garrett would be back. However, Jones would not comment on the status of other coaches such as defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, whose unit allowed the third most yards in the history of the NFL this season. Meanwhile, Garrett has gone 8-8 in each of his three full seasons as head coach, losing a playoff spot in Week 17 each year.

ESPN's Ed Werder reports the "current expectation" is owner Jerry Jones will fire head coach Jason Garrett if the Cowboys fail to make the playoffs.

The Cowboys need to win out to qualify for the postseason. Specifically, Werder writes Garrett is expected to be axed "unless the Cowboys win NFC East, make playoffs." Garrett's 7-7 team closes out the season at Washington, and at home versus Philadelphia in Week 17. Dallas has collapsed defensively on a weekly basis, and struggled to establish a week-to-week identity on offense.

Jerry Jones said head coach Jason Garrett will be back in 2014 no matter how the Cowboys season ends.

It's difficult to take Jones at his word. In Garrett's four seasons at the helm of the Cowboys, he has a pedestrian 26-24 record and has never been to the playoffs. If he misses the postseason once again (the Cowboys are 5-5, a half-game behind the Eagles in the NFC East), Jerry isn't going to be happy. This claim that Garrett's job is in no jeopardy is likely just an attempt to keep the focus squarely on the remainder of this year.

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said he could "absolutely" take back play-calling duties from OC Bill Callahan, but that he has no plans to do so.

The Cowboys got out-gained 625-193 in Sunday's humiliating loss to the Saints, while Callahan has a shown a frustrating inability to manufacture touches for all-world WR Dez Bryant. He's also grown increasingly prone to abandoning the run. Either way, the Cowboys aren't going to make a change. Even if they did, it's unlikely they'd make a big public show of it. Then again, this is Jerry Jones' team.

Having stripped Garrett of basically all his power, it's unclear why Jones is even keeping his formerly hand-picked coach around. After mostly resisting interfering during the Bill Parcells years, Jones has become more meddlesome than ever as he goes on 71 years of age. It's made for a nonsensical power structure in Big D, and is steadily eroding the Cowboys' chances of being annual contenders in the rugged NFC East. Jones could reduce the negative effects of his wanton interference if he stopped overpaying for mediocre in-house talent.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones insists coach Jason Garrett is not "coaching for his job" this season.

Jones has undermined Garrett at every step this offseason, stripping him of play-calling duties, choosing his new defensive coordinator and naming rookies starters before they so much as stepped on the practice field. If Garrett's not coaching for his job, the Cowboys have a funny way of showing it.